Hi Leonard! Check out this post by former PD reporter Bill Sloat.
http://thebellwetherdaily.blogspot.com/2007/08/4-ohio-bloggers-courted-by-plain-dealer.html
I also passed the info on to Jay Rosen. I'm one of the four bloggers involved in the negotiations and while it's very interesting and exciting, it's not yet a done deal. Still, we remain optimistic and we give kudos to the PD for reaching out to us.